.. Some more OP content. What's up in China? Let's go and see for ourselves.
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.. With snow sneaking up on us we've spent most of the last few days down canyon on the Gallatin River.
.. It's been too nice to fish - we fished anyway. Bright clear days. Warm mid day temperatures in the 40's and 50's. Occasional breezes to keep our mind on the time and place.
CASUALLY DRESSED
.. It's still small streamer and big nymph time along the Gallatin River.
.. Folks on the lowland Madison River are slinging veiled hints about an early Mother's Day caddis. We'll check it in the next day or two.
.. Hebgen Reservoir is finally giving up some ice free shoreline. If you can get to some, it's an easy cast to the ice.
.. Just about any "Buggy" bit of fluff will take the ravenous fish that cruise the edges.
.. Just drop your fly at the edge of the ice, (or on the ice.) Let it sink slowly on an ungreased, (fairly strong and long,) leader. Some of the neighbors are using a small section of lead core on old worn out floating level lines. The takes are authoritative.
.. It's a great loss for fishing in the Pacific Northwest.
.. Angie has caught the tropical bug.
.. Enjoy this year's notes and humor.
.. In 16 months or so the "Sunshine State" may have some bits of insight thrown their way.
.. The folks around Cocoa Beach are in for it now.
NOT A STEELHEAD
.. Read the website introductory page (ABOUT HERE.)
.. Check out the guide site (HERE).
.. Read this year's rant, (including last Spring's stuff too) (LIKE HERE.)
.. It's been a year since we stumbled upon an article that caused us to reflect on the state of this most cherished pastime.
.. Our knee-jerk reaction was to post something wry, or witty, or grumpy.
.. We put it on hold. We did some investigating. We wallowed around in internet searches and, even went to the library and ordered some esoteric books from far off repositories.
.. We're late to the game. Not unusual. The article that triggered this frenzy of snooping around was in Field and Stream, (LINK 1.) It's called "FLY TALK" and probably wasn't seen by many 'serious' fly fishers.
.. After all the magazine appeals to fairly normal folks that hunt as well as fish and, they kill things and enjoy a fresh caught Brook Trout in the frying pan.
.. The author of the article bemoans the flood of Chinese made fishing tackle and the 'knock off' products that are infiltrating the domestic market. This from a writer from Michigan. Some irony there.
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COLLECTABLE PRECISION
.. Shortly Immediately after WWII our shores were flooded with cheap toys from Japan that were made from recycled C-ration and K-ration cans and other cultural ejecta. (LINK 2.)
.. Japan's long history of prewar toy manufacture made this an easy entry into post war manufacturing.
FIRST SERIES CANON
.. Little tin cars and trucks and guns and soldiers and all manner of junk was made from the materials at hand. The American consumer laughed. They derided the stuff and bought it anyway. Of course, the toy industry led the way in the rapid post war economic recovery in Japan.
A NEW LENS MOUNT
.. At that early time "Made in Japan" was a term of derision.
.. Today the toys from Japan include Toyota, (America's favorite automobile product,) Apple products and components, (those that aren't made in China,) Canon, Nikon, Sony, Makita, Yamaha, Epson, Asics, Komatsu, Brigestone, Honda, to name just a few. Culturally, we now, (rightly or wrongly,) view Japanese goods as high quality.
RAINEY'S FLY TIERS - THAILAND
.. For decades flies have been tied all over Southeast Asia. Some even from Central America and South America.
.. That never bothered serious fly fishers - they all tied their own.
.. Some of the finest utility reels of decades past were Pflueger knock-offs that were made in Japan. Pflueger figured it out and went to Japan to make it's own reels there. Look, too, at the Fenwick story.
NIKON "F" & "F2"
.. Currently some of our most cherished utility gear is now being made in China: boots, hats, duffle bags, gear bags, back packs, etc.
.. Those non-elitist fly fishers that are not into "BUYING LIFESTYLE" are willing to pay less money for good utilitarian products.
.. We do it in all phases of our economic life. Only snobs demand ideology and ethos from their utilitarian products.
.. "Name Brands" often sell more than just the thing-in-hand. They sell ethos, tradition, history, lifestyle, image, exclusivity, etc. This is not new.
.. So, just who should feel challenged by the rising tide of Chinese goods? Those folks, obviously, who are vested in something other than value for the dollar and the thing-in-hand. Those are the folks that push all the intangibles that they hope to sell you with the product and, they are vested in the ineffable.
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IAN FORBES AND HIS MASHEER
.. Sage has capitalized on this concept. They are way ahead of the curve. Two years ago they sponsored the "China Fly Fishing Festival."
.. Peter Hayes reported on the event, (LINK 3.) He noted that the Chinese fly fishers eschew Chinese products for name brand Western gear full of Western tradition and ethos. Now there is a bit of insight and a marketing opportunity.
.. There are Fly fishing forums, blogs, and fly fishing clubs proliferating in China. {{ LINK4, LINK 5, LINK 6.}} Given the population size and current state of the Chinese economy there would seem to be a marketing opportunity here.
.. Selling ethos, tradition, lifestyle, and exclusivity will certainly appeal to the mindset of a people steeped, for centuries, in ethos, tradition, and exclusivity. Hmmmm.
.. Of course there are numerically more regular folks in China than the elitists and selectivists. The same holds true for the good ol' U.S.A.
.. Check this video that reviews a Chinese Fly Reel. Most of you will laugh and chortle. It figures.
..
..We've spent a few hours looking for impartialobjectiveunbiased straight forward reviews of Chinese rods and reels and flies. We have wondered if they are the junk that they are made out to be by the ethos peddlers.
.. What we do know is that in 1960 fly fisher people laughed at Japanese fish hooks. At that time "Gamakatsu" was hurled through the air as a derogatory expletive when on the water: "Lost another one to GAMAKATSU." My my, how soon we forget. Who has recently bought fish hooks made in Redditch?(LINK 7)
.. We suspect that there are some very fine Chinese products in the fly fishing arena that are about to make their name in the world market.
.. We suspect that bamboo rods, billet aluminum reels, clothing, general gear, and fish hooks are about to catch the attention of yeoman fishers.
.. The elitists will continue to hold out for lifestyle, ethos, tradition, and history. Those are the folks that will never drive a Toyota or a Subaru.
A TONKIN GROVE - courtesy JMbamboo
.. We fly fishers have sought out Chinese bamboo as the material preferred for premium split bamboo rods. Interesting indeed.
.. The Chinese people have millennia worth of experience working the biggest of the grasses. They were doing it long before Charles H. Demarest tried to corner the market on tea stick bamboo.
.. Certainly if we can elevate a bit of plant fiber to such exalted status we can do the same for other Chinese goods - manufactured as well as agricultural. We'll wait for the history and the ethos to catch up.
.. Of course as the minimum wage level in China gradually escalates, manufacturing costs will escalate as well - with attendant economic displacement. Already, the reel manufacturer Penn has been looking to move from China to Burma or Vietnam.
.. Rapala has already pulled out of China. Weatherby is considering moving it's Vanguard line from Howa manufacturing in Japan to the mainland of China. And so it goes. As the manufacturing sector of the world economy jostles itself around for lower and lower wages some things are may be sacrificed.
.. Occasionally quality suffers badly. Frequently materials availability and distribution are real nightmares. But, Matilda, there is one thing that the hucksters can always sell: ethos, tradition, exclusivity, and lifestyle.
.. Retailers of fishing gear already are sourcing their "economy" lines from China. They make no bones about it.
.. The giant shopping center and catalog sporting goods stores, WalMart, Bass Pro, Cabela's, etc. are tapped into and are supporting the ginormous tackle industry in China. It's only going to get bigger.
.. Right after they bought Shedhorn Sports in Bozeman, Schnee's Boots and Shoes announced a mass market boot that is made in China with their name on it.(LINK 8)
.. We suspect that they hope some of the handmade and Montana tradition will rub off on the Chinese boots.
.. We will be sad when White's Boots of Spokane, Washington follows suit.(LINK 9) We'll have to reclaim our personal last. This will be a tough pill for an ISO 9001 boot builder to swallow.
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.. We wonder if there is any good or excellent quality fly fishing gear being produced by those millions of talented, Western educated, and highly motivated Chinese citizens. Could anything good come from the vastness of the Far East?
.. We wonder if the ethos of the East will soon be sold as a branding concept. {{ Just What is Tenkara anyhoo?}}
.. We do suspect that in 50 years "Made in China" will be viewed the same way that "Made in Japan" is today.
.. If you want to get into the import business or, if you want to see some interesting wholesale prices, or, if you want to see what you got for what you paid: the resources below should prove interesting.
.. On the other hand ethos sells - for now.
[[ For an interesting note on the ancillary movements around this topic check out SINGLEBARBED.]]
.. Although it's just about Spring in this neck of the woods, it's Summer elsewhere.
.. The boys of summer are now officially earning their multi million dollar salaries by chewing and farting and scratching and digging in their crotch.
THE PILL
.. Baseball is here and our nation is ready. Or so we would be led to believe.
.. Not so very long ago baseball was played on the radio.
.. It's hard to envision slouching on a couch with the neighborhood toughs gobbling nachos and guacamole while listening to a ball game on the radio.
.. Baseball is a different game on the radio than it is on the television. It's a different game in the year 2016 than it was in 1949 as well.
.. Fly fishers in 1949 had a different social millieu to operate within than does the fly fisher today. So too the baseball fan.
.. Today our heroes are ridged fly lines, designer reels, and spouse beating adolescents in adult bodies.
.. Today we can fish the all over the world and torment foreign fish as easily as we can ignore a soft walk in the woods.
.. Pedal to the metal fly fishing. It's a grand slam sort of deal. Someone is making money. Someone is spending money. Catching is always better where the grass is greener.
.. Today neither fly fishing nor baseball is a pastime. Both are in high gear and dashing headlong into the worlds of lucre and fame.
.. Fame from the radio, (then or now.) is a different sort of beast. Lucre in terms of real dollars or perquisites is different now than then. We're beyond radio.
.. We, ourselves, still enjoy the humor of both contemporary baseball and fly fishing. The play by play re-analysis of an electric image that was available to all from all different angles, is mandatory for the color commentators. Our eyes are just not good enough.
.. This allows time for a commercial break, and extends the air time, - umpires be damned: the game be damned.
NOT RADIO
.. Fly fishers allowing that a fish's eating habits and behaviors can be analyzed ad nauseam from streamside to the abandonment of flicking a fly on the water as an empirical test are missing the "radio" of the pastime. We must need the 'color' commentators of fishing to validate it.
.. Watching fish is hardly sport but it is certainly an enjoyable pastime. Waste of time?
.. Radio has gone out of baseball. Radio has left fly fishing. Baseball is about to leave television for the "mobile device."
.. Fly fishing has already embraced the cell phone. It's radio days expired with the 'American Sportsman' and celebrity fishers. OOPS! Celebrities who got paid to fish.
.. There never was much radio about the fly fishing pastime on these shores. There was some in Great Britain and Canada right after WWII.
.. For some interesting reasons the way to fame and fortune in the world of fly fishing is through publication and product huckstering.
.. George Kelson taught us how. We've been doing it ever since. Some are good at it. Some are great at it. It's akin to selling autographed baseballs. In fly fishing it's autographed reels or rods or books or flies.
.. Goodby radio, so long television, adios publications: hello adventures, hello internet sales, hello twitter, hello 'Electric Horseman' and Steve Able and Perk Perkins.
Perk Perkins has led Orvis as CEO since November 1992. Under his
guidance, the company has grown from $88 million in sales in 1992 to
nearly $300 million in 2006. The company simultaneously refined and
expanded its product line and sales channels. Perk has built a strong
business culture of quality and brand integrity throughout the
multi-channel retailer. Orvis has prospered and earned the industry’s
highest awards in both catalog and Internet marketing.{{LINK}}
.. So, it's opening day for some. It's not for others.
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.. We're headed over the hill to the lowland Madison River. The fishing is proceeding apace with the gentle lowland weather and there are little bitty teeny weeny blueish flies down there.
.. It seems appropriate on this day to vent just a little. After all, for instance, we all know that "Tenkara" was really invented by Izaak Walton.
.. Or was it those Macedonian fishers that were recorded by Ælean at about A.D. 230? This is not just an April Foolishness.
.. Single piece rods, (of about the same lengths 6' to 18',) self or spliced string as well as self or spliced rods were used by all those fishers.
.. It's just a stick and a string with a hook and feather attached to the business end. It's been done wherever there are fish to catch, (catfish, sunfish, trout, perch, - hell even tuna!)
click for 8 seconds of Tenkara catch and release
..
.. We are constantly bombarded by the hogwash perpetrated by fellow fishers, blogsters, marketing geniuses, and the industry fishing experts who are busy peddling the latest and greatest - of whatever! (To gullible folks upon whom our society is built.)
.. We've heard it said that fly fishing is about 1/3 facts, 1/3 mysticism, and 1/3 fascination with the exotic. We now know why all fishers are liars: it's not by choice, rather, it's from ignorance and self aggrandizement.
.. We, on the other hand, tend to believe that it's more like 1/5 factoids, 1/5 hearsay, 1/5 belief, 1/5 commercial allegiance, 1/5 "truth" with a capital "T".
.. It's not that there are no facts to be had, it's rather that most non-commercial fishers would rather accept hearsay, or marketing hype. Soulful prose rather than history or science is the preferred reading material. The best buddy knows more than anyone else.
.. It is way more soulful and poetic to believe that the gear, hearsay traditions, mystical behaviors, lofty terminology, and flies are the key to self fulfillment as a fisher rather than just catching fish. Why should we believe that new gear will make us a better fisher. Hells bells can any gear make one a better fisher?
.. Not so long ago it was just fishing. Then manufacturers and elitists and joiners, and cults began the verbosity ploy. This is often called the "Name it and nail it syndrome."
.. When spinning reels were invented there suddenly became "spin fishing." Aha, got that one down!
.. Of course the reel for the fishing string was only invented around the 4th century A.D., in China apparently.
.. Western reels were first called a "wind." They didn't appear until the 1600's - give or take a little.They were hung on the belt and used to wind up the line when fishing was completed - or you tripped on the excess around your feet. Soon thereafter they were nailed, glued, strapped, or otherwise affixed to the stick in the first two feet or thereabouts.
.. Soon there were Nottingham reels, fly reels, bait reels, bait casting reels, center pin reels, multiplying reels, fresh water reels, salt water reels, trout reels, big game reels, etc.
.. Of course you were obliged to believe that each succeeding reel was better at fishing in a particular venue with a particular style, with a particular ethos and mystique, and canonized behavior.
.. This, most certainly, demands verbiage to set one apart from the other. And, by inference, makes one a better catcher of fish.
.. Gadzooks: marketeers glommed on to this very early on in our Western tradition. England did itself proud and the industry, (centered in London and Reddich,) became very creative in their sales techniques.
.. The House of Hardy even got itself appointed to the crown as official supplier - wow that still carries weight today.
.. Fishing rods large enough to require two hands have been around since Izaak's day, (think of a 20' greenheart stick with attendant string.)
.. Of course since it was imported from South America it was highly desired. Folks that used these sticks were "Greenheart Fishermen", (not women.) They practiced 'greenheart casting.' Zowie !!! Something new to sell.
.. For years fishers used what was available. Bamboo poles, greenheart sticks, maple sticks, ash sticks, etc. Someone decided to split up some bamboo and then stick it back together again. It was cheap. It was strong enough. It was plentiful. And, by gum, it was imported from the exotic Far East.
.. Hundreds of thousands of them were sold by Sears Roebuck & Co., Montgomery Ward, and tackle shops across the nation and elsewhere. Each and every one of them made better fishers of the folks that bought them.
.. Suddenly there was spring steel, forged steel. iron, tubular steel, aluminum, fiberglass, graphite, boron and exotic mixes of miscellaneous synthetics. Bamboo was relegated to the shelf, the attic, the pawn shop, or the garden as tomato stakes. Meanwhile fishers kept getting better and better. The clothes make the man.
.. Cane rods were out: then back in when it became fashionable and the other sorts got real expensive. We wonder if folks are now better fishers because of their modern stick and string.
.. Today a two handed rod is a Spey rod and is used for Spey casting - but not Spey fishing. Why is that?
.. Of course it's a good gimmick to hang sales upon. Few fishers believe that Spey casting can be done without a Spey rod.
.. Fewer have been to the River Spey. But fly fishers being the sort of species that they are have jumped on the "Spey Rod" bandwagon. Marketing wins out over any sort of rationality. Just like Izaak Walton's Tenkara fishing.
.. Fishers on the River Test don't have "Test Rods."
.. Now there's an idea! Why not have Orvis start marketing the Test rod Should be a sales boon! Then we can all learn to Test cast.
.. It could be expanded to fishing in the "TEST WAY." A clipped brogue should accompany it as well.
.. Diction lessons could accompany certified fly casting instruction by the Federation Of Fly Fishers. There's a marketing opportunity here somewhere. Think of the mythology. Think of the hearsay. Think of the possible factoids that can be generated.
.. Perhaps there is Madison Casting, Henry's Forking, Gallatin Grabbing, Missouri Mending, etc. Think of the marketing and blogging that could be enjoined. Words aplenty just waiting for exploitation. Soon we will all be better at catching.
.. Unlike the Tenkara tradition which was originally a solitary commercial venture the Spey casters around here are joiners. They are elitist back slappers and proselytizers: just as are the recent Tenkaristas in the Americas. Is it 'my rod's better than your rod' or is it 'my rod makes me a better fisher' or is it 'us against all the other fools'? We're obviously missing something here.
.. Most specialized fly fishing gear is better than 90% of the fishers that buy it and extol it's virtues. For instance the drags on many contemporary trout reels are superb pieces of engineering. Far better than the 14" trout that are caught with them. Far better than the fishers that listen to them buzz and click and whir - to the exhaustion of the fish. It's a wonder that folks just 20 years ago caught any fish.
.. Of course we miss the point. Fly fishing is not about catching fish. It's not about selecting appropriate tools to the task.
.. It's way more about drinking, telling stories, hanging out together, buying the latest gear, believing the marketeers, believing the truth so freely dispensed by counter help, and "belonging." Our peerage is too important to seek facts or ignore fashion.
.. No longer can one just go fishing. One must go fly fishing. One must go bass fishing. One must spin fish. One must deep sea fish. One must belong: even if it means adopting a foolish and romantic belief structure propagated by the wizards of Wall Street and the corner fly shop.
.. This is not to say that fishers of Pseudosasa amabilis, (Arundinariaamabilis) are different than the rest of us. They are just easy and popular targets. .. This pastime is a target rich environment by it's very nature. Spey casters using Spey rods have a belief structure and vocabulary no more unthinking than the rest of us. .. The Tenkara advocate and practitioner is no more shallow in his beliefs than the dry fly purist, the generalist, the nymph fisher, the ice fisher or the spin fisher. .. We have allowed the hype of marketing and joining and of belonging to mythologize a very simple pastime, (not, however, - more or less, - the commercial fisher.) .. What is it that demands of us that we seek to believe in that which is built upon the sand? .. We certainly don't know.
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